


Deloping

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Gratsu [34]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Duelling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Honour, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Promises, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-12 19:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17474051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Deloping the act of 'throwing away your shot', or firing your first shot off-target purposefully to avoid a certain outcome or conflict.'His thoughts were brought sharply back to Lucas as the retort of the other’s pistol rang through the arena before the referee had even had a chance to shout fire, and his eyes narrowed in disgust. Coward…The bullet had gone wide of its mark just as he had expected, and for a second he savoured the expression on his opponents face. This was never a fight you could win…'





	Deloping

    Gray’s expression was dark as he eyed up his opponent, his fingers tightening around the unfamiliar weight of the pistol in his hand, magic dancing just beneath the surface of his skin for a moment before he ruthlessly suppressed it. Magic wasn’t allowed for this battle. The downside of taking a job in the far western reaches of Fiore in an archaic backwater that had him longing to be back home in Magnolia, ironic since both he and Natsu had taken this job specifically to get away from all the attention that had been showered on the guild since their win in the Grand Magic Games. However, they hadn’t anticipated coming up against Lucas, a high-ranking member of the local Merchants Guild who’d set his eyes on Natsu, and not been willing to take no for an answer, the Dragon-slayer too shocked by his actions to defend himself and forcing a furious, and overly protective Gray to intervene.  

      He couldn’t hold back his growl at that thought, gaze shifting to where Natsu stood by the fence, shifting nervously from one foot to the other as his wide, olive eyes darted between Gray and his opponent. _Natsu…_ The Dragon-slayer had been furious when Gray had immediately accepted the offer of a duel for his honour, for the right to claim him, but that had long since shifted to fear once he’d learnt that the Ice mage couldn’t use his magic. It was considered dishonourable in this village, especially as the other man had openly acknowledged the weakness of his own magic. The Ice mage hadn’t cared, all he wanted to do was make it clear for everyone to see that he wouldn’t tolerate anyone going after his mate, but he knew that Natsu was scared.

_“Do you really need to do this?” Natsu asked quietly, speaking up for the first time since they’d been pushed into the small ante-chamber to await the start of the duel. Gray had tensed at the words, refusing to turn towards his mate, fearful that the anger still churning in his chest would make him lash out at the Fire Mage. “Gray please…”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Gray…”_

_“He tried to touch you,” Gray growled, his anger bubbling up once more as he glanced towards the anxious pink-haired man leaning against the wall, dark eyes lingering for a moment on the bruises marring the pale skin and the fear that Natsu wasn’t able to completely hide. “He knew that you were mine, and yet he still dared to lay a finger on you. I can’t, and won’t let that go.”_

_“But…”_

_“I will be fine,” Gray’s voice dropped, softening as he crossed the room to Natsu opening his arms in invitation, and the Dragon-slayer immediately accepted the offer, darting into his arm. It was only when he wrapped his arms around the smaller teen that he realised just how badly Natsu was shaking, and his anger fell away for the time being as he pulled Natsu as close as possible, dropping a gentle kiss into the messy pink hair tickling his cheek. “I will win this, and then we’re going home. He’s not going to get a chance to come near you again, I promise.”_

_“I’m not scared about that,” Natsu protested weakly, and they could both hear the lie in his words, and he sighed before admitting. “Well, I am worried about that, although I know I would punch him this time. But Gray…this is a duel with pistols, not magic, and I know you can use weapons like that when they’re made of your ice, but…” Gray gently reached down, tilting Natsu’s chin up so that their gazes met._

_“Don’t worry about that. He doesn’t stand a chance,” he said with utmost confidence, leaning in to claim Natsu’s lips in a chaste kiss, fingers ghosting over the marks that had been left on his mate. “I promise.”_

    His promise still rang in his ears as he met worried olive, and he offered Natsu what he hoped was a reassuring smile before shifting his attention to Lucas, snarling as he caught the blue eyes that were currently locked on the Dragon-slayer.

“Let’s get this over with,” he called breaking through the chatter of the gathered audience, well aware that they were all here for the entertainment and that the majority of them were waiting for him to lose. Lucas’s name had come up more than once during their stay here, and whether by honourable means or not it was clear that the merchant held a lot of power in the town. And the Ice mage was looking forward to stripping that way from him, just as Lucas had tried to strip Natsu of his power, catching him by surprise and overwhelming him before Natsu could even think about fighting back. His fingers tightened around his weapon, and he forced himself to take a deep breath and loosen his hold, a misfire now could be a catastrophe, and there was no way he was going to risk losing because of his anger.

“Are you sure?” Lucas asked even as he stepped forward, smirking at Gray before letting his eyes trail across the watching Dragon-slayer, clearly trying to rile the Ice mage. “You could just leave him with me, and I would let you walk away.” Gray barked out a laugh at that, catching the low snarl from Natsu who had worked out what was going on, and he shot a quick glance at his mate, warning him not to interfere before turning his attention back to the merchant who looked stunned by his response.

“I would like to see you keep him here,” Gray was unable to hide his amusement at the mere idea of it. It had taken him months to win the Dragon-slayer round, he doubted that a man like Lucas would ever be able to win him round even if he had years. “Natsu isn’t someone that can be tamed.”

“Oh really? He seemed pretty tame earlier…”

    The temptation to shoot, or abandon the duel altogether and use his ice was overwhelming as his previous amusement dissipated. It would be so easy to tear him apart with magic, and he had a feeling that Natsu wouldn’t try and stop him. The air around him was growing colder, and he could hear the mutters from the watching crowd, and with a great deal of reluctance he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

“You don’t know him, and you won’t get a chance to,” he stated firmly once he knew that he could trust his voice to work, and he caught the flicker of fury in the blue eyes, and he smirked. He had noticed earlier that while Lucas had been quick to trap him in a duel, he had seemed alarmed when the Ice mage had rapidly agreed to it. Erza had spent years drilling it into his head that people always had tells that would reveal their weakness, teaching him how to recognise them and how to exploit them, and his smirk became predatory as he added mockingly. “Start the duel, I’ll even let you have the first shot.” An angry flush lit up Lucas’s face as the taunt hit home, and Gray knew that he had him and he moved across to the ready position that had already been marked out in the arena as the merchant mimicked his movements.

“Gray…” He heard Natsu’s worried call as Lucas raised his weapon, but he didn’t dare take his attention of his opponent. While he doubted the merchant was going to hit his mark, only an idiot would take his eyes off an armed opponent, although he hated the fact that he couldn’t do anything to comfort the Dragon-slayer at the moment. His thoughts were brought sharply back to Lucas as the retort of the other’s pistol rang through the arena before the referee had even had a chance to shout fire, and his eyes narrowed in disgust. _Coward…_ The bullet had gone wide of its mark just as he had expected, and for a second he savoured the expression on his opponents face. _This was never a fight you could win…_

    Calmly, he waited for the cry of ‘fire’ before he lifted his weapon, holding Lucas’s suddenly terrified gaze as he fired.  He did it slowly and deliberately, leaving no one in any doubts that he had intended to miss as the bullet gouged a path in the ground barely a few centimetres from his opponent’s foot, smirking at the frightened squeak that escaped the merchant. With clear contempt he dropped the pistol on the floor and turned away, heading steadily for Natsu who was staring at him in confusion, and he had barely reached the Dragon-slayer before Lucas got over his shock.

“This duel isn’t over!”

“Yes, it is,” Gray’s voice was soft but it carried easily in the silence that had fallen, and he reached out to grasp Natsu’s hand, rubbing his thumb reassuringly over it before turning to look at the merchant. “You were never in a position to win this fight, and you proved it with your cowardly approach and poor aim. It would be ‘dishonourable’ to kill someone like you.”

“I…”

    Gray snarled. He had deliberately missed his shot, trying to keep to Fairy Tail’s creed of not killing, even though the bruises on Natsu’s face and neck left him wanting to just that, but his patience was waiting. Squeezing Natsu’s fingers reassuringly, he turned and stalked back towards the merchant, allowing his magic to seep into the air as his expression darkened. He paid no mind to the alarmed voices around them, his gaze focused on the pistol that was once again pointed in his direction, but he didn’t falter. His pace slow and even as he crossed the arena, silently daring the other man to shoot even though he knew he wouldn’t, watching Lucas’s grip on the weapon slipping as the merchant realised that he wasn’t going to stop.

“You lost…” He said icily, reaching out to grasp the weapon as soon as he was in reach, magic flaring as he coated it with ice and Lucas dropped it with a frightened cry. _This creature dared touch Natsu._ His eyes were dark as he lifted his hand, letting ice play across his fingers as he added quietly. “It’s up to you how much else you want to lose.” The merchant sank to his knees, unable to voice his surrender, but his expression told the Ice mage everything he needed to know, as did the reluctant applause now spreading out among the spectators. “Natsu is mine,” he added before turning on his heel, knowing that there was no way he was going to get a coherent reply from the man at the moment and he didn’t need one. All he cared about now was the Dragon-slayer rushing to meet him with a bright grin, and relieved eyes, and the thought that they were going to go on a proper holiday after all of this.


End file.
